


The Power of a Good Suit

by Pixelatrix



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Lots of Sex, Romance, Sex, Triangle of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:28:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22754587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixelatrix/pseuds/Pixelatrix
Summary: Post-Reaper War Romance between Shepard.
Relationships: Steven Hackett/Female Shepard
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another old FFnet story. Again one from around 2013, my writing has gotten better since then lol.
> 
> This is, completely unrelated to the multitude of other Hackett/Shep fics that I’ve written LOL. I just couldn’t get this line out of my head. And since all my other stories have Hackett & Shep already in a relationship well before ME3, I figured this would have to do.  
Not beta, all mistakes are my own.  
No real spoilers.  
Rated M because I cuss like a goddamn sailor. =) Also rated M for some hot moments.   
Enjoy.  
Bioware owns all. Sadly.  
Read. Enjoy. Review. Favorite. I’ll love you forever lol.

Several months after the Reaper War, Shepard found herself attending what seemed like the millionth damn celebration party. She’d been promoted to Major and accepted a position in the N7 training program. The _Normandy_ had a new commanding officer, one Commander James Vega. She was pleased that Vega had the ship, he deserved it. She’d just felt like she needed her feet planted on the ground for a while. 

The N7 program had been the perfect fit. She trained new recruits at a facility in London. And she occasionally visited Arcturus for meetings or like this evening, for goddamn memorials and black tie events. She stepped into the room and immediately headed for the bar. She grabbed a whiskey sour and turned to get a better look at the other party-goers. A man in a dark blue, almost black, tuxedo caught her attention. She was blatantly ogling his broad shoulders when he turned and she found herself staring into a familiar pair of blue eyes.

_Hackett_.

Shepard spun back around and told herself to stop lusting after the unreachable. She was half-way through her drink when someone stepped up next to her. It wasn’t Hackett. _Sadly._ It was a very drunk Commander that she’d never met. When he tried to grab her ass, she made a quick retreat from the room.

She was walking down a hallway when the idiot caught up with her. He grabbed her shoulder and shoved her up against the wall. Fighting in a dress was _not_ ideal; she started to push him away when he was dragged away from her.

Hackett had the man by the throat. He hauled him down the hall towards two waiting Alliance military police. He returned moments later to check on her. He pulled off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. It was difficult to resist the urge to point out that she could have biotically thrown the man into next week. But it was fucking hot watching Hackett play ‘knight-in-shining-armor’. Plus, his jacket smelled…enticing.

“Are you alright?” Hackett’s arm wrapped around her waist and guided her through a maze of hallways into what she assumed was his office.

“I’m fine.” Shepard tugged his jacket closer. She wasn’t ready to give it up. “Seriously, Hackett? I defeated the reapers; I can handle one drunken asshole.”

“I didn’t like seeing another man’s hands on you.” Hackett admitted while he led her over to a couch in the corner. 

Shepard took a seat on the couch. She kicked off her heels and got comfortable. “Whose hands should be on me?”

Hackett ignored her question and poured a couple glasses of scotch. He handed her a glass and then sat beside her. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“The N7 program is keeping me busy. There’s a new group of recruits. I’m enjoying it more than I thought I would.” Shepard took a sip of the scotch.

“It suits you.” Hackett’s hand patted her knee. It was more of a caress and less of a pat. The warmth of his touch did things to her. Things that made her want to straddle his goddamn lap and rip his shirt off. “So why were you checking out my ass earlier?”

“I…” Shepard’s mouth opened to respond and then snapped shut when the hand on her knee shifted a little so his fingers slid just underneath the hem of her dress. She took another drink from the glass before she tried to speak again. “Not your ass so much as your shoulders.”

“Shoulders?”

“Never underestimate the power of a good suit, Hackett.” She ran a hand over his jacket. “It does amazing things for a man’s back.”

“Is that all it takes? A good suit?” Hackett raised both eyebrows.

“Well, it does depend a lot on the man in the suit.” She watched his hand inch a little higher.

“Major Alenko seemed very interested in your assignment to London.” Hackett watched her over the rim of his glass.

“_Major Alenko_ has no right to be _very interested_ in anything that relates to me.” She frowned at him.

The hand on her leg tightened a little. “That’s good to know, Shepard.”

She looked down at his hand for a moment then back up at him. “And why exactly is that _good to know_?”

“It means that there are no toes that I’ll be stepping on.” He set his glass aside.

“Stepping on when?”

“When I do this…” He shifted on the couch to lean down to bring his lips close to hers. “Unless, you’d rather I find that Commander who accosted you.”

Shepard pressed forward so her lips met his. “I’m not a couch kind of girl, Admiral.”

“Then it’s a damn good thing that I have my own apartment with a rather large, rather comfortable bed.” Hackett smiled at her.


	2. Chapter 2

Shepard wandered around Hackett’s apartment the next morning dressed only in his dress shirt. The hem of the shirt hovered just around her upper thighs. She was _supposed_ to be heading back to Earth. A new class of recruits would be showing up for orientation at the N7 program in the next day and she had a lot of things to prepare. She just didn’t feel like leaving yet.

There was something…really sexy about wearing Hackett’s shirt. It smelled like him. The man in question was still asleep. She walked back over to the bed and ran her fingers along his spine. She turned around to start to gather up her clothes when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back down on the bed. 

“Morning.” She chuckled when she found herself underneath him staring up into his eyes.

“Going somewhere, Shepard?”

“Home. If I don’t get dressed, I’m going to miss my transport.” Shepard grinned up at him when she felt his hand sliding along her thigh.

“You look good in my shirt.” He moved his hand further up. “You look better out of it.

“As much as I’m enjoying this, I can’t miss my ride back to Earth.” Shepard carefully moved his hand away from her thigh.

“I’m seriously regretting that damn assignment to London.” Hackett rolled over on his back next to her on the bed.

Shepard got out of bed and began the hunt for her dress again. She found it underneath one of the chairs in the living room. She took a few minutes in the bathroom to make herself appear a little more…or less…bed ruffled. She leaned her head back into the bedroom to wink at the Admiral, and then headed for the door. He caught up with her just as she was stepping outside. 

“Careful, you might shock your neighbors.” She grinned. He hadn’t bothered to grab pants.

He turned back to get dressed but she was long gone. She barely made it on to the ship back to Earth in time. The couple hours it took to get home gave her more than enough time to think about the implications of sleeping with Admiral Hackett.

_She should’ve kept his damn shirt._

She was sitting at her desk the following morning going through the files on the new class of recruits when she received a chat request.

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: Arcturus_

_From: Hackett_

_To: Shepard_

_08:03 H: My shirt smells like you._

_08:05 S: Good Morning to you too, Admiral._

_08:06 S: I find washing clothes tends to help with things like that._

_08:08 H: That’s very helpful, Major. Thanks._

_08:11 S: I do my best. I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got six N7 recruits waiting to be yelled at._

_08:12 User has disconnected._

The yelling got old. Recruits seemed to expect their military trainers to yell at them. She did the first day usually, and after that, she’d hit them with a biotic throw if they didn’t listen. It was a lot more effective. She spent sixteen hours with the new class before trudging back to her apartment in the East-End of London. She was dead on her feet, so tired that she typed the security code on her door wrong three times. 

“Need a hand?”

She glanced over her shoulder to find Hackett standing in her hallway. “Did you get lost on your way from your office to your apartment?”

“You hung up on me.” He followed her inside her home. 

“You hang up on people on the time. I don’t think it’s hanging up when it’s a chat.” Shepard rolled her eyes and headed into the kitchen.

She scrounged around in the fridge looking for something to eat. She hadn’t eaten all damn day and finally settled for leftover pizza and a beer. Hackett watched her with an amused smile.

“Don’t judge, I haven’t eaten all fucking day.” She spoke around a mouthful of pizza. “I think there’s another slice. Want some?”

“I ate earlier when I met with several of the Admirals.” He wandered over to take a seat on her couch. “You should take the time to have a meal during the day, Shepard.”

Shepard sat cross-legged on the arm of the couch and finished the pizza. She took a swig of beer. “I was a little distracted today…with the new recruits and…things.”

“Things?”

“Things.” She muttered into her beer.

“What things?” He asked.

“You…your shirt…I might steal it.” She set the bottle down on the coffee table.

“My shirt?”

“It was very comfortable.” Shepard moved away from the couch and headed towards her bedroom with Hackett following. 

She began stripping out of her uniform before she even made it into her bedroom. It had been a long day and she really wanted a shower before she was prepared to deal with Hackett. She hadn’t anticipated him following her into the shower. He took the soap from her hand and began gently washing her. 

The easy caresses eased all the stress from the day away. He dried her off with a towel. She was so fucking exhausted that she was almost asleep on her feet. She sat on the edge of the bed. He pushed her back onto it and then began massaging her body. He started with her feet then moved up to her legs and finally her back. When he finished, he lay beside her on the bed. 

Shepard turned on her side so that she could look him in the eyes. “So…not a one-night stand?”

“No.”

“Good.” She rolled on her back and closed her eyes. 


	3. Chapter 3

0500 was never a good time to wake up. It sucked especially because of the warm body next to her in bed. Hackett’s arm and leg were draped over her. Shepard slammed her hand back on her alarm clock when it began shrieking. She took her new position seriously, and being late was not something that she could do.

She slipped out from under him to hop in the shower and get dressed. The Admiral apparently slept soundly. She thought about waking him up, but he looked so damned…fitting in her bed. She covered him with the blanket instead and tip-toed out of her apartment.

The days always seemed longer when she got up before the sun. It occurred to her as she walked back into her apartment that evening that maybe she should’ve left a note for Hackett. It also occurred to her that she’d forgotten to eat again. Not a good idea for someone who was a biotic.

_Oops._

He had definitely left and was probably on Arcturus already. Shepard opened her fridge to finish up the cold pizza only to find it…gone. Her refrigerator appeared to be fully stocked for the first time ever. She recognized the label on one of the containers inside. They were all ready to eat meals from one of the nearby restaurants. Juice, water and some kind of energy drink now stood next to the six pack of beer.

She grabbed one of the sandwiches and a juice. A cursory glance in her cabinet told her that she had a fresh stack of powers bars as well. Someone had been very busy. She turned on the biotic ball game and pulled up a chat window on her terminal.

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: Shepard_

_To: Hackett_

_21:06 S: I had a visit from the fridge faery._

_21:09 H: Fridge Faery?_

_21:10 S: It stole my pizza and gave me real food._

_21:11 H: Fridge…Faery._

_21:12 S: Yes._

_21:13 S: Also, thanks, I haven’t been balancing my time or diet well lately._

_21:15 H: You need more than pizza._

_21:19 S: So…what are you doing Friday night?_

_21:21 H: No plans. Why?_

_21:23 S: Well…now that I know you look so good in that suit, I have tickets for this concert at the new Royal Albert Hall. _

_21:24 H: Who had you planned on taking?_

_21:25 S: No one._

_21:26 H: So why did you buy two tickets?_

_21:31 S: No one important._

_21:32 H: So does this no one have a name?_

_21:33 S: Yes._

_21:34 H: Going to tell me?_

_21:36 S: Hell no. I meant it when I said no one important. I got these tickets over six months ago, and things…didn’t go the way I thought they would. I had intended to go alone and sell the other ticket, but you do look damn good in a suit._

_21:38 H: What time is the concert?_

_21:39 S: 1900. Is that a yes?_

_21:42 H: I’ll see you at 1700, we’ll have dinner first._

_21:42 User has disconnected._

“Does he ever let anyone have the last word?” Shepard muttered at the closed chat. She turned back to the game only to have someone at the door interrupt. She grumbled all the way to the door. “Coats?”

“I thought about what you said, and I decided that you had a good point.” The Major leaned against the side of the door frame and smiled at her.

“Yes, I see…that.” She started to say something else but he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. _Well, shit._

“You still have those concert tickets?” He dragged her backwards into her living room.

“About that, we need to talk.” She tried to get a little separation from him. 

Major Coats had been hinting around about dating her, but he liked to play the field a little too much. She’d finally told him to shove off if he couldn’t figure out what he wanted. And then a few months ago, he’d gotten temporarily reassigned to setting up a training facility in Munich. She hadn’t heard from him since. This was fucking awkward. 

He frowned at her. “That is never a good phrase, love.”

“Yea, yea.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I have a date for the concert, and it isn’t you.”

“He won’t be as much fun as I would be.” Coats winked at her.

“That’s what you think.” She muttered before trying to usher him out of her apartment.

His hand slid around to the back of her neck, his fingers teasing the sensitive spots that he knew drove her crazy. “Are you sure about that?”

“No. Yes. No.” She glared at him. “Shit.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Admiral Hackett, are you kidding me, love?” Coats blocked her path in the hallway.

Shepard had stopped in the ladies room for a moment and when she started back to the restaurant table where Hackett was waiting, she found the Major waiting for her. He appeared highly amused by her date. She tried to duck under his arm, but he lowered it.

“Yes, Admiral Hackett is my date. What’s your point?” She started to fold he arms across her chest but stopped. It was a bad idea in the dress that she was wearing. “Is there a woman at a bar that you need to pick up?”

“Now that’s a low blow.” He grinned at her. “Isn’t the Admiral a little old for vigorous activity?”

“He didn’t seem to have any problems the last time.” Shepard smirked at the stunned look on his face. “You left, Coats, and you made it fairly clear that we were over. So you don’t get to complain when I move on.”

“Is there a problem?”

They both glanced back to find Hackett standing at the entrance to the hallway. Shepard shoved her elbow into the Major’s side to get him out of her way. 

“Not anymore.” She laughed before taking the arm that Hackett held out and following him back to their table.

Hackett waited until they were both seated to question her. “I thought that there were no toes to worry about.”

She raised an eyebrow at him in confusion for a moment, and then remembered their conversation on Arcturus. “The Major and I ended our, whatever you want to call it, before he went to Munich.”

“He doesn’t seem to think that it’s over.” Hackett motioned over her shoulder to where the Major was making his way to the exit.

“Coats likes to think that women are just sitting around waiting for him. And I don’t fucking wait for anyone.” She glanced back at Hackett. “Well, maybe for someone special, I might make an exception.”

“Should I be worried about the Major?” He asked.

“We’re going to be late for the concert.” Shepard glanced down at her omni-tool to check the time; they needed to head over to the concert hall soon.

“That isn’t an answer, Shepard.” Hackett remarked before waving over one of the attendants.

She grinned at him. “No, it isn’t.”

He waited until they were walking down the sidewalk towards the newly rebuilt Royal Albert Hall before he pressed her on the matter again. “Are you going to give me a real answer?”

“Should you be worried about Major Coats?” She mulled it over for a moment, mostly to tease the Admiral a little. It was never a good idea to let a man think that he had everything easy. “I wouldn’t be all that worried if I were you. Well, maybe a little.”

“Maybe a little?” He frowned at her.

Shepard ignored him and headed up the stairs into the hall. She did not intend to spend her evening talking about Major goddamn Coats. Hackett wasn’t able to continue the conversation until much later when he was escorting her back to her apartment. He started to ask her a question only to fall silent when they got to her door to find the man leaning against it waiting for her.

“I do not recall you ever being this fucking attentive when we were actually…what the hell were we doing?” She shoved him away from her door. “Go home, Major. I’m not interested in whatever it is you’re selling this time.”

“Are you sure, love?” He gave her a wicked grin before strolling casually away.

Hackett trailed Shepard into her apartment. “So, I don’t need to worry?”

Shepard rolled her eyes at him before sliding the sleeves of her dress off her shoulders, the dress slipped off her body and pooled around her feet. “What do you think?”

“It’s definitely a problem for another day.”

“Wise man.”


	5. Chapter 5

Hackett left for Arcturus on Sunday, Shepard hadn’t really thought about the Major throughout the weekend. Not until she stepped out of her apartment Monday morning to find him waiting with two cups of coffee. _ The cheating bastard._ She could smell the coffee from where she stood, and it smelled like heaven.

"So Admiral Hackett?" Coats handed her one of the cups of coffee.

"Yes."

"Does he need..."

“Stop right there or I will dump both cups of coffee over your head." She took the stairs two at a time and started the fifteen minute walk to her office.

"But he's like..."

She elbowed him in the stomach. "The coffee is too good to waste. Look, you were amazing sex, but that's it. Hackett's amazing sex and more."

"More than what?" He dodged her second elbow attempt.

"More than you." She answered honestly. “Besides, you were chatting up that Lieutenant-Commander before you left Munich. She is _still_ available.”

“Is she now?” He took a sip of coffee and smirked at her.

“Yes, now go, be gone. I’ve got recruits to torment.” Shepard stepped into her office and tossed the now empty coffee cup into the trash can in the corner. Before she dealt with the trainees, she had a message to send.

_From: Shepard_

_To: Hackett_

_Subj: Two Things._

_Major Coats is no longer a concern._

_Second, you re ally have to stop filling my fridge. I’m starting to get used to real food again. The pizza thinks that I’m cheating on it._

_It was lonely in bed this morning._

_Shepard_

_From: Hackett_

_To: Shepard_

_Subj: re: Two Things?_

_I think you’ll find that was actually more like three._

_Why is the Major no longer a concern?_

_It was very lonely under the covers here as well._

_Hackett_

_From: Shepard_

_To: Hackett_

_Subj: re: Persnickety Fuckers_

_That would be you, by the way._

_He is no longer a concern because he is chasing a rather leggy L.C. at the moment, very easily dissuaded that one. _

_Can we move the N7 training facility to Arcturus? _

_Shepard_

_From: Hackett_

_To: Shepard_

_Subj: No._

_I think having all those damn N7s on the station might be a little much._

_I prefer methodical to persnickety._

_Hackett_

_From: Shepard_

_To: Hackett_

_Subj: re: No._

_Persnickety fuckers usually do._

_ I think you should seriously considering just wearing a suit all the time._

_Shepard_

_From: Hackett_

_To: Shepard_

_Subj: re: your tuxedo fetish._

_It doesn’t really go with my hat._

_Hackett_

_From: Hackett_

_To: Shepard_

_Subj: re: your hat._

_I’m sending you a bill for the terminal that I just sprayed coffee all over._

_Off to deal with all those damn N7 recruits._

_Shepard_

Shepard had several long days before she finally came up for air. Her current class was out in the field with a different trainer. She decided to hop on a cruiser headed for Arcturus. She had a shirt to steal. She took a note from the Major and grabbed two cups of coffee from one of the café’s on the station, then headed to the Admiral’s office.

“Coffee?” She asked when his yeoman ushered her inside.

“Shepard?” He waved the young officer out of the room and focused his attention on the Commander.

She set the extra cup on his desk in front of him, and then perched on the edge of the desk beside his chair. There was one other thing that I think I might have forgotten to mention.”

“And what’s that?” Hackett ignored the coffee and turned his chair to face her.

“I think I left something in your apartment when I was here last time.” She grinned at him innocently.

“I haven’t seen anything.” He raised an eyebrow at him.

“We should give it a very thorough inspection, just in case.” Shepard hopped down from the desk.

“Don’t you have a class of recruits to train?” Hackett stood as well and followed her towards his office door.

“They are currently completing their sniper certification with Captain Burris and Major Devon. I have all this free time and nothing to do with it.” She slid her arm through his while they walked. “I could go back to my office to do paperwork. But then I remembered that I’d left something in your apartment.”

“Right. And what exactly did you leave?” He looked very sceptical.

“I’m sure I’ll think of something to leave for the next time.” Shepard winked at him.


	6. Chapter 6

Shepard stepped into her office on Friday morning to find her desk chair already occupied. Major Coats was leaning back in the chair with his boots up on her desk. She clung to the cup of coffee in her hand like it was a lifeline. She’d gotten back from Arcturus late and hadn’t managed to get much sleep. It was too fucking early to deal with him.

“Get your damn feet off of my desk.” She glared at him. “Did the L.C. turn you down?”

“Who?” He dropped his boots from her desk and stood up to let her take her seat.

She waited for him to move away from her desk, when he didn’t. She rolled her eyes and slide past him, ignoring the warm, hard body that brushed against her. “Why are you in my office?”

“I was waiting for you. I wanted to know how your brief visit to Arcturus went.” He perched on the edge of her desk. He swung his leg a little, letting it bump hers.

“Quit that.” She frowned at him. “How the hell did you know where I went?”

“Spies.”

“You mean you flirted with one of the women at the port,” she corrected.

“I believe in using all the tools of my trade.” He nudged her leg again with his. “So, how was the Admiral? Is he bald under that cap? I’ve always wondered.”

“The Admiral was…satisfying.” She didn’t bother answering his second question. “Now go away, I have work to do.”

“Have lunch with me?” He was fucking charm personified when he wanted to be.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Do you ever where a tuxedo?” Shepard ignored his question. She’d never seen Coats in a suit. She was briefly distracted by the idea.

He frowned at her. “If I show up in bloody black tie, will you go to lunch with me?”

“Sure.” She rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t you have your own fucking office?”

“I’ll hold you to that, love.” He stole her cup of coffee and walked out of her office.

“Jackass.”

Shepard forgot completely about him until five minutes after twelve o’clock, Coats stepped into her office in a goddamn suit. She tried to force her eyes to focus on the datapad on her desk and not the man moving towards her. He did look fucking good in the suit. 

“What the hell are you doing?” She glared at him when he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her chair.

“You said if I showed up in black tie, that you’d go to lunch with me.” He gestured towards his current state of dress. “Voila, so, let’s go.”

“I’m in fucking fatigues.” She complained while trailing after him. It was impossible not to follow; he had an iron grip on her hand. Hackett was going to kill her.

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: Shepard_

_To: Hackett_

_14:03 S: I think I just accidentally went on a lunch date._

_14:13 H: Accidentally?_

_14:15 H: How does one accidentally go on a date, Shepard? And who was this date with?_

_14:16 S: I thought it was just lunch…but…it wasn’t._

_14:17 H: Who was it?_

_14:18 S: Major Coats._

_14:19 H: I thought he was distracted._

_14:21 S: So did I._

_14:22 H: Why were you going to lunch with him in the first place?_

_14:23 S: I accidentally agreed to it._

_14:34 S: I was trying to get him out of my office. I didn’t think he’d actually do it._

_14:35 H: Do what?_

_14:57 H: Shepard?_

_15:01 S: Show up in a suit._

_15:03 H: A suit?_

_15:05 S: I’m late for a meeting. Can we finish this later? I promise, it really wasn’t a date from my perspective._

_15:06 User has disconnected. _

When her meeting was over, Shepard tried to reach the Admiral again but he didn’t appear to be available. She tried a few hours later without success. It was well after midnight when she finally walked back to her apartment. She half-expected to find the Major loitering outside her apartment again. There was a man by her door who was much more welcome sight.

“I’ve been trying to reach you all afternoon.” She remarked before walking past him into her apartment. She headed into the kitchen to grab a power bar and a bottle of juice. She’d missed dinner again.

“That’s what you’re having for dinner?” Hackett frowned at her.

“It’s better than pizza and beer.” She sat on one of the stools in the kitchen and munched on the bar. She pointed in the general direction of the stars. “Aren’t you supposed to be on a station up there somewhere?”

He walked over to her and took the empty wrapper from her hand. He set it on the kitchen counter and then did the same with the juice. “I just have a simple question for you.”

“Ok?”

“Did he look better than me in a suit? I know how fond you are of them.” Hackett’s hands rested on her thighs.

“Nope.”

“Good to know.” He lifted her up and began carrying her towards the bedroom.

“Are we going somewhere?”

“I want to make sure that you don’t _accidentally_ have any more dates.” He dropped her on the bed.

“Oh? And how do you intend to do that?” She grinned up at him.

“I believe screwing you into exhaustion was high up on my list of ideas to try.”


End file.
